Headhunter

Synopsis

A Miami cop finds out his wife has a female lover, and he begins to have an affair with his female partner. Meanwhile, a voodoo demon from Africa arrives among Miami's Nigerian community and begins decapitating some people and possessing others--including the cop's wife.

A Miami cop finds out his wife has a female lover, and he begins to have an affair with his female partner. Meanwhile, a voodoo demon from Africa arrives among Miami's Nigerian community and begins decapitating some people and possessing others--including the cop's wife.

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by lost-in-limbo 4 / 10

Headless entertainment.

The constant bad swipes this low-rent South American horror film
receives might be justified, but I didn't think it was entirely
terrible. Mostly wooden, and more often vapid you could say, with the
occult idea being push aside for lame (and oddly placed) soapy domestic
quibbles of the two police detectives (likeably played by Wayne
Crawford and Kay Lenz) who are chasing a killer that unusually
decapitates its victims, and might be something supernatural of African
origins. Cool! No not cool. This offbeat angle is left high and dry,
and just frustrates with its sloppy pace and bland script. Quite a
drag! Well up until the frenetic climax. Having the two leads being
fully developed is fine, but still it leaves us with too many questions
about our ugly looking demon. The underwritten premise is randomly
disjointed and terribly unclear and inconsistent in its motives. Never
does it become much fun, as its light on suspense, action and
gratuitous splatter. Nor does it have any sort of camp value. It needed
to go out on a limb to achieve excitement, because it sadly underplays
itself and goes about things seriously. The convincing location choices
however, seemed to invoke an effective atmospheric tenor, and Hans
Kuhle's free-flowing camera-work is well done. Julian Laxton's howling
music score has a thumping, menacing tone that won't let up. The rubber
demon looks tacky and bulky, but decent for such a budget. Watchable
fluff, but not one to lose your head over.

Reviewed by udar55 5 / 10

Highlander: The Demon from Africa

Detectives Katherine Hall (Kay Lenz) and Pete Giullani (Wayne Crawford)
are investigating a bizarre series of beheadings in Miami. With
Christopher Lambert nowhere to be seen, they focus on a small community
of Nigerian immigrants who believe they are being haunted by a vengeful
spirit from their homeland. Before you can say THE BELIEVERS, our
heroes find themselves targets and their personal lives attacked. This
is a pretty average 80s horror flick that loses points for being
boring. It is too bad because director Francis Schaeffer stages some
effective scenes (all of the kill scenes are well done), but then
bungles the human drama. The end has Crawford chasing the main beast -
that looks kind of like Rawhead Rex - around a tiny backyard with a
chainsaw. The movie needed more crazy stuff like this, and less stuff
like Crawford arguing with his wife. The film ends with Headhunter
being resurrected back in Africa, but no sequel arrived.

Reviewed by andybob-3 5 / 10

Made somewhat watchable by its sense of humor (5 out of 10)

Plots revolves around an evil voodoo spirit terrorizing a neighborhood
in Miami which is mostly populated by Nigerian refugees, chopping off
and stealing their heads. Police detectives Crawford and Lenz are given
the unenviable task of investigating the murders, and soon find out for
themselves that they are in WAY over their own heads.

Sometimes creepy, sometimes boring, but its sense of humor perks things
up throughout and helps hold your interest. Unfortunately when you do
finally get to see the killer is a big let down, and it most resembles
what you'd expect a living-dead pro-wrestler with a machete to look
like, except made out of foam-rubber. Crawford and Lenz do an excellent
job in their roles and help hold things together despite this films
serious weaknesses, with Crawford delivering some pretty good
one-liners.